America has a big cat crisis. Untold numbers of captive tigers, lions, leopards and other big cat species are kept in captivity throughout the nation, most of them in shoddy roadside zoos, private menageries or in private homes and yards as pets. Today, to confront this cruelty and halt the worst excesses of the industry that exploits these animals so mercilessly, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, by a vote of 25-17. 

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for the 82 beagles languishing at Inotiv’s Mount Vernon, Indiana, laboratory that was the site of our recent undercover investigation. A Humane Society of the United States investigator found 80 beagle puppies being force-fed potentially toxic drugs in tests commissioned by Crinetics, a pharmaceutical company in San Diego, along with two adult beagles who’d been being used for years to practice invasive procedures.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Update 6/23/22: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection voted today to advance two important horse protection bills, the SAFE and PAST Act. The Subcommittee voted in favor 22-0 for both bills and we look forward to further advancement to the Full Committee.

This week, members of Congress will turn their attention to forms of cruelty to horses that many Americans might think ended long ago. And we think it’s time they set aside any differences to do something decisive to help horses.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Duchess is a Havanese with a wardrobe of tiny, colorful dresses. Cooper is a senior golden retriever who still has a lot of spunk and likes to go on vacations with his family. Alis is a Weimaraner who jogs with her owner and loves to catch a ball.

These dogs are finally enjoying  life, and the puppy mills from which they were rescued are no longer in operation. Before they closed, each one of those mills appeared in our annual Horrible Hundred reports identifying known problem breeders in the United States.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

It is a long way from the stable, paddock and winner’s circle at Churchill Downs to the dark, dank and bloody slaughterhouses in which tens of thousands of American horses meet their sad and pitiable end each year.

Yet some former racehorses do make that terrible journey, and it’s hard not to think of them on the eve of the Kentucky Derby, the most celebrated of races.